This article summarizes equations in the theory of waves.
Definitions
General fundamental quantities
A wave can be longitudinal where the oscillations are parallel (or antiparallel) to the propagation direction, or transverse where the oscillations are perpendicular to the propagation direction. These oscillations are characterized by a periodically time-varying displacement in the parallel or perpendicular direction, and so the instantaneous velocity and acceleration are also periodic and time varying in these directions. (the apparent motion of the wave due to the successive oscillations of particles or fields about their equilibrium positions) propagates at the phase and group velocities parallel or antiparallel to the propagation direction, which is common to longitudinal and transverse waves. Below oscillatory displacement, velocity and acceleration refer to the kinematics in the oscillating directions of the wave - transverse or longitudinal (mathematical description is identical), the group and phase velocities are separate.
General derived quantities
Relation between space, time, angle analogues used to describe the phase:
Modulation indices
Acoustics
Equations
In what follows n, m are any integers (Z = set of integers); .
Standing waves
Propagating waves
Sound waves
Gravitational waves
Gravitational radiation for two orbiting bodies in the low-speed limit.
Superposition, interference, and diffraction
Wave propagation
A common misconception occurs between phase velocity and group velocity (analogous to centres of mass and gravity). They happen to be equal in non-dispersive media. In dispersive media the phase velocity is not necessarily the same as the group velocity. The phase velocity varies with frequency.
The phase velocity is the rate at which the phase of the wave propagates in space.
The group velocity is the rate at which the wave envelope, i.e. the changes in amplitude, propagates. The wave envelope is the profile of the wave amplitudes; all transverse displacements are bound by the envelope profile.
Intuitively the wave envelope is the "global profile" of the wave, which "contains" changing "local profiles inside the global profile". Each propagates at generally different speeds determined by the important function called the dispersion relation. The use of the explicit form ω(k) is standard, since the phase velocity ω/k and the group velocity dω/dk usually have convenient representations by this function.
General wave functions
Wave equations
Sinusoidal solutions to the 3d wave equation
N different sinusoidal waves
Complex amplitude of wave n
Resultant complex amplitude of all N waves
Modulus of amplitude
The transverse displacements are simply the real parts of the complex amplitudes.
1-dimensional corollaries for two sinusoidal waves
The following may be deduced by applying the principle of superposition to two sinusoidal waves, using trigonometric identities. The angle addition and sum-to-product trigonometric formulae are useful; in more advanced work complex numbers and fourier series and transforms are used.
See also
Defining equation (physical chemistry)
List of equations in classical mechanics
List of equations in fluid mechanics
List of equations in gravitation
List of equations in nuclear and particle physics
List of equations in quantum mechanics
List of photonics equations
List of relativistic equations
SI electromagnetism units
Wave equation
One-way wave equation
Footnotes
Sources
P.M. Whelan; M.J. Hodgeson (1978). Essential Principles of Physics (2nd ed.). John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-3382-1.
G. Woan (2010). The Cambridge Handbook of Physics Formulas. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57507-2.
A. Halpern (1988). 3000 Solved Problems in Physics, Schaum Series. Mc Graw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-025734-4.
R.G. Lerner; G.L. Trigg (2005). Encyclopaedia of Physics (2nd ed.). VHC Publishers, Hans Warlimont, Springer. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-07-025734-4.
C.B. Parker (1994). McGraw Hill Encyclopaedia of Physics (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-051400-3.
P.A. Tipler; G. Mosca (2008). Physics for Scientists and Engineers: With Modern Physics (6th ed.). W.H. Freeman and Co. ISBN 978-1-4292-0265-7.
L.N. Hand; J.D. Finch (2008). Analytical Mechanics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57572-0.
T.B. Arkill; C.J. Millar (1974). Mechanics, Vibrations and Waves. John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-2882-8.
H.J. Pain (1983). The Physics of Vibrations and Waves (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-90182-2.
J.R. Forshaw; A.G. Smith (2009). Dynamics and Relativity. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-01460-8.
G.A.G. Bennet (1974). Electricity and Modern Physics (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold (UK). ISBN 0-7131-2459-8.
I.S. Grant; W.R. Phillips; Manchester Physics (2008). Electromagnetism (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-92712-9.
D.J. Griffiths (2007). Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd ed.). Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-81-7758-293-2.
Further reading
L.H. Greenberg (1978). Physics with Modern Applications. Holt-Saunders International W.B. Saunders and Co. ISBN 0-7216-4247-0.
J.B. Marion; W.F. Hornyak (1984). Principles of Physics. Holt-Saunders International Saunders College. ISBN 4-8337-0195-2.
A. Beiser (1987). Concepts of Modern Physics (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill (International). ISBN 0-07-100144-1.
H.D. Young; R.A. Freedman (2008). University Physics – With Modern Physics (12th ed.). Addison-Wesley (Pearson International). ISBN 978-0-321-50130-1.